The Legal 500

Asia Pacific Legal 500

China

China’s growth has been put into sharp focus as the western markets have struggled. As one of the BRIC countries (along with Brazil, Russia and India), it is seen as one of the world’s most important emerging markets. The country’s infrastructure, both physical and legal, continues to develop at a rate unparalleled in the major economies.

China’s Internet consumption hit RMB398.8bn (US$53.89bn) last year, while the country’s tax revenue jumped 31% last year to RMB4.94 trillion (US$676.33bn) as the domestic economic boom raised corporate profits. According to preliminary estimation, in the first half of 2008, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China was RMB13,061.9bn, a year-on-year growth of 10.4% after deducting price factors. All these factors show signs of the continuing economic prosperity and the new avenues for investment that have kept the financial and legal markets active. That China is widely tipped to become the world’s leading energy consumer in the next few years might also be considered another key trend, not just demonstrating its consumption patterns but giving some idea as to the areas of industry that have become dominant. Read more...

UK Legal 500

London - Dispute resolution

Recent economic turbulence linked to the credit crunch has played its part in raising the spectre of a more litigious era. Over the last two years, an emphasis on banking and financial markets litigation has pervaded the City, with firms recognising that companies and individuals are looking to recover losses that have resulted from the excesses of the bull market, and the heightened regulatory crackdown by institutions such as the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has also increased demand for defendant lawyers. In 2007, Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP hired senior financial regulatory lawyer Nathan Willmott from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, and in 2008 recruited banking litigation specialist Segun Osuntokun from DLA Piper UK LLP, while other notable lateral hires include Clare Canning, Simon Willis and Matthew Lawson moving from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP to Mayer Brown International LLP. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP also recruited the former Attorney General and eminent barrister Lord Goldsmith QC.

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UK Legal 500

Scotland

Edinburgh and Glasgow: The central belt has historically been dominated by the so-called ‘Big Four’: Dundas & Wilson CS LLP , Maclay Murray & Spens LLP , McGrigors LLP and Shepherd and Wedderburn.

In addition to being the country’s largest firm, Dundas & Wilson CS LLP is perhaps also its finest, with formidable strength across all practices.

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Asia Pacific Legal 500

India

Despite surging inflation and the stock market losses of 2008, India’s upwardly mobile middle class continues to reap the financial gains of a buoyant economy. Consequently, the legal community is enjoying an unprecedented range of work, and in the last year found itself especially busy with telecoms, automotive and energy clients. Incoming funds work also remains lively, especially within the real estate and infrastructure sectors, and private equity continues to dominate the M&A scene.

However, despite persistent lobbying and clear incentives for domestic law firms to grow, The Partnership Act still limits each Indian firm to 20 partners, and local firms are prohibited from constructing websites or otherwise advertising their services. The restrictions limit growth options both domestically and internationally, although many practitioners continue to regard them as promoting stability, continuity and identity within the legal community. A handful of law firms are rumoured to have opened up additional offices under different names to circumvent this legislation but the legal market comprises small and mid-sized firms, often either family-run or in the form of sole proprietorships. Control of even the biggest firms is frequently found in the hands of a select few. Read more...

UK Legal 500

West Midlands

The traditional ‘Big Five’ firms continue to dominate the market, with regional monolith Wragge & Co LLP leading the field in terms of size. Although the firm garners over 80% of its work from outside the region (international work accounts for around 20% of turnover), its visibility on the local scene remains high and it remains top-choice for corporate, TMT and energy work, sharing the real estate spotlight with Eversheds LLP.

DLA Piper UK LLP continues to reap plaudits for its sterling corporate finance practice, although the loss of key partners has impacted on its seemingly unshakeable PFI and projects reputation. The real estate group has also been the subject of some speculation in the market, but the decision to relocate national head of regeneration, Martin Hallam , to Birmingham was a confident move.

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UK Legal 500

The North

Dickinson Dees LLP continues to dominate the North East market. Last year saw continued substantial growth, and the firm’s offices in York and London have enabled it to attract some major new clients nationally as well as instructions on groundbreaking deals. While it is unquestionably the region’s number one, it is taking significant transitional steps to become a nationally recognised practice. The firm now employs 923 staff, of whom 79 are partners across its offices in the North East and Yorkshire.

Ward Hadaway is increasingly viewed as a major player, in the region and beyond. Strategically, its focus on public sector work is proving successful, with the firm advising on over £2bn-worth of public sector projects across the country last year. On the private side it is regularly instructed on significant deals, with deal values almost trebling in the last two years. The firm is set to extend its presence outside the region by opening a Leeds office by the summer of 2008.

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UK Legal 500

London - Finance

Last year was very much a story of two halves. The first half of the year was characterised by a continuation of unprecedented levels of liquidity, and some record-breaking acquisition finance transactions, most commonly in the leveraged buyout (LBO) market. The sub-prime crisis signalled the end of the good times, however, and the resultant uncertainty as to which financial institutions’ balances were affected by the defaults produced a seizure in the inter-bank market. The LBO market suffered a very visible contraction, with the Magic Circle firms becoming more active in the mid-market, which remained largely unscathed by the turbulence. Similarly, the emerging markets became an increasingly attractive target for law firms seeking to minimise their losses and in some cases, diversify their practices. On the flip side, the corporate restructuring market came out of its relative period of slumber, with increased levels of activity occurring in particular in the financial services industry.

Despite the turbulence in the market, the leading firms in the practice areas covered by this section remain largely unchanged from last year. For overall finance capability, the Magic Circle firms lead the market, with Allen & Overy LLP, Clifford Chance and Linklaters LLP featuring in the top tier for the majority of the categories. While Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP continues to lose partners from its asset finance practice, its banking group received some real impetus in May 2008 with the addition of Maurice Allen and Mike Goetz from White & Case LLP. While more limited in scope than many of its peers, Slaughter and May’s unrivalled array of blue-chip clients ensures that it receives regular big-ticket financing mandates across the majority of disciplines.

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UK Legal 500

North West

Addleshaw Goddard is a pre-eminent name in the North West across a diverse range of areas. An example of the sheer depth and strength of this firm was demonstrated by its recent addition to the Rolls-Royce panel.

Beachcroft LLP had a record year, with revenue exceeding £15m. One highlight for its employment practice was its appointment as adviser to McDonald’s Restaurants.

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UK Legal 500

Whereas in the recent past the Woolf reforms and a relatively benign economy combined to ensure that the courts were not overloaded by the weight of cases that bore down on the judicial system during the early to mid-1990s, after nearly a decade of decline in civil court proceedings there are signs that a more contentious era has descended on the London legal market. The number of civil law cases launched in the High Court increased by a quarter in 2006, and there are signs that this trend has continued; while many leading City law firms stalled the expansion of their disputes departments in favour of growing their transactional practices, they are now expected to re-energise their dispute resolution capabilities.

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The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa

Germany

Over the past few years, many foreign law firms have established themselves in Germany. Last year, though, a trend seen over a longer period became more acute – namely, that most of the so-called ‘magic circle’ firms have opted to focus more on transactional matters, responding to a marked increase in M&A activity throughout Europe.

Such focus on transactional work has to some extent been at the expense of other departments; for example, firms have either been axing their intellectual property and media departments, or at least reducing their numbers. And the focus in these fields has shifted towards major transactions, which have been carried out by corporate and M&A partners working at the interface between practice areas. Nowhere has this development been more noticeable than in Linklaters LLP’s decision to close its Cologne office, and scale back its German IP practice, in the context of the firm’s restructuring. Read more...

The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa

Israel

Law firms in Israel are becoming increasingly divided between the very large firms, which are growing larger year by year, and aiming to provide a one-stop-shop to clients across most major practice areas, on the one hand, and the boutique firms, which are often specialised in one or two key practice areas, on the other. While many large firms are growing organically or through lateral hire, some large firms have chosen to merge to achieve critical mass. Recent examples include Gross, Kleinhendler, Hodak, Halevy, Greenberg & Co’s merger with Berkman, Wechsler, Bloom & Co to form Gross, Kleinhendler, Hodak, Berkman & Co.

Israeli companies have become increasingly active abroad in the last year, especially in Eastern European real estate and projects work. Such work is keeping many of the larger firms with the sophistication to advise Israeli clients on international outbound work busy. Read more...

The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa

Portugal

The most noteworthy development last year was the break away of a group of 18 fee-earners (including five partners), from PLMJ - A. M. Pereira, Sáragga Leal, Oliveira Martins, Júdice e Associados Sociedade de Advogados, RL, Portugal’s largest firm. The group was led by Gabriela Rodrigues Martins and has set up its own practice under the name AAA. Read more...

Legal 500 United States

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT: Employee benefits

Employee benefits work sits at the cross-section of various regulatory bodies, namely the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). It is therefore useful to have a presence in Washington, DC to ensure regular dialogue with these government agencies, and to make sure that clients are not stung by the volatile regulatory climate. Read more...

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Copyright

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